The visit to Dubai of Sudanese Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Faisal Hassan Ibrahim, reported this week by the Emirates official news agency, underscores the key role the UAE has come to play in this African state. Dr. Ibrahim’s three-day visit will include meeting with his counterpart, Saeed bin Mohammed Al Ragabani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Gulf investments make up the lion’s share of money poring into Sudan’s recovering economy, and the two main sectors are agriculture and oil. Sudan has made great efforts to attract more private investment from the UAE over the past year, both because of the country’s urgent economic rebuilding needs and because of a greater willingness of Gulf investors to consider regional investment instead of international investment.

The UAE also plays an important role in the recovery of Sudan’s economy by way of governmental action. This latter category included erasing over $60 million in debt, signing memorandums of cooperation. The Minister’s visit may produce further productive measures in the field of agricultural cooperation.

Additional UAE assistance to Sudan includes projects aimed at rehabilitating the country’s infrastructure. The Abu Dhabi Investment Fund (AIF) jointly with Saudi Investment Fund (SIF) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) are working on a major investment operation in Sudan to develop and improve the roads and bridges network there, said Abdul Rahim Hamdi, the Sudanese Minister of Economy and Finance, this summer. (www.albawaba.com)